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7 People Servers Hate

Working in the restaurant industry has taught me several life lessons:

free soup and bread counts as a diet, rent money is only a double shift away, and people that go out to eat are the worst kind of people.

I’m a waitress and I have been for about three years now. I know many people that have been serving tables for far longer than I have and I just think to myself

“how have you survived this long?”

And I don’t mean financially…I definitely mean mentally.

If you haven’t worked as a server or you haven’t had a friend that constantly bitches about their serving job after a long shift, then you haven’t met the different kinds of people that go out to eat. Restaurants are where stereotypes come alive and servers and bartenders loathe each and every one of them for different reasons. Let’s meet them, shall we?

1. The Hurried Girl:
She’s in her early thirties and she’s meeting her friends for lunch. The two friends that she’s meeting are already at the restaurant and they’ve been sipping their Sangria at your table which is designed for six people while she’s running a little late. Finally, after stopping by the table three or four times to see if she’s arrived, she finally makes an appearance. You begin to approach her and open your mouth to say “Hi, my name is [whatever your name is]. What can I get you to drink?” but of course, she cuts you off by saying, “Look, I’m in a really big hurry.”

Oh, are you? I’m sure you’re in a hurry because you’re late as fuck and you came to a restaurant notorious for having an excessive wait time. She will then proceed to order before her friends and insists that you place the order before anyone elses’. After her small salad with the dressing on the side arrives, she will quickly finish it and then SIT THERE AND WAIT FOR HER FRIENDS TO FINISH. Excuse me, but didn’t you just tell me that you were in a hurry? These people only say they’re in a hurry in order to insure that the service is fast. Let me tell you a little somethin’ somethin’, Hurried Girl:

First things first, I don’t want you here any longer than needed so I’m not going to prolong this process. I want you to eat, enjoy yourself, tip me, and then leave. Painless and fun.

Second, if you want speedy service where no one bothers you, go to a fast food restaurant.

2. The Uniformed:
I work at a restaurant that is well-known for its disgustingly over-sized menu. It’s not uncommon for people to have questions or ask for recommendations. I went through almost two weeks of training and menu classes to prepare for people to ask these questions. I get it. Trust me. I want my guests to get what they want and know what they’re getting because there’s nothing more frustrating than having someone not liking what they get and sending it back and ruining my life. So, please don’t hesitate to ask your server questions. Unless you are the Uninformed. Now, this person is typically middle-aged or border-line old. They begin by saying, “Yeah, I have a couple of questions.” A couple of questions turns into a ten minute conversation going over every single item on the menu.

“What’s good?”“Tell me about this.”“Have you ever had this?”

You politely answer their questions but it reaches a point where you don’t even have the answers anymore. I’m sorry, ma’am but I don’t know how many grams of sugar are in our desserts. Your other tables are needing refills but all you can offer them at the moment is an apologetic look over your shoulder. After answering every question this person can possibly think of, they smile and thank you for your time and say “I just need another minute.” And you happily oblige because now you can help out your other tables. But when you return and ask the Uninformed what they would like, do you know what they order 98% of the time? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING YOU EXPLAINED OR RECOMMENDED. The bitch will almost always get something ridiculous like soup and salad. I….I just…middle finger to you, beesh.

3. Mr. Needy:
This one is self explanatory. He’s the guy that needs something EVERY time you go to the table. Now, as a waitress, you learn to anticipate things people might need. They ordered a steak? You prep a steak knife. They ordered french fries? Grab some ketchup. But Mr. Needy cannot be anticipated or prepared for. He needs things that don’t make any sense. Oh, you ordered a steak but you need ranch dressing? Okay, yeah I’ll be right back. Sure, I’ll grab you another basket of bread because silly of me to think that the two previous ones weren’t enough. Uh huh, I’d love to refill your sweet tea that you just chugged before I even finished taking your order. Also, I would be delighted to make over thirty trips back and forth from your table to opposite ends of the Earth because you LIE TO ME every time I go to your table. “Is there anything else I can get for you, SIR?” “No, I think I’m good. Oh wait…” NO FUCK YOU BECAUSE YOU SAID THAT YOU DIDN’T NEED ANYTHING ELSE AND NOW YOU’RE LYING.

I really don’t mind getting people what they want but I don’t understand why they can’t just tell me everything they need so that way I can do it all at once and not dehydrate from running around like a crazy person. Sigh…also, these people almost always tip absolute shit so it’s never worth going through the trouble they put you through. Mr. Needy can suck a dick.

4. The Verbal Tipper:
These people are great. They are so nice and they compliment you every time you do something for them. I love serving them. They make you feel so good about yourself. They engage in conversation and they remember your name and politely ask for things and try not to be too much trouble. They’re the perfect table, really.

“Where’s your manager? I want to tell him to give you a raise!”“You’ve been so great, Marki. We really appreciate everything you’ve done for us.”“You’re the best!”

And then you give them the bill and they leave you ABSOLUTE GARBAGE. And don’t come running to me saying “money isn’t everything” or some shit like that because when you’re a waitress it IS everything. This is how I pay my bills. And I can’t put your compliments in a box and mail it to the leasing office. Your kind words and lovely thoughts don’t put food on the table. So if you’ve got something nice to say to your server, say it and then pay up. My friendship is available but it’s not free so if you’re looking for a free friend go talk to a homeless man under a bridge. But he’ll probably want money from you too so looks like you’re screwed.

5. Grandma:
Fuck Grandma. I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry. Fuck. Grandma. She’s a bitch and she thinks the world revolves around her. She’s basically an older and smellier version of Mr. Needy. She’s rude as hell and treats you like a slave she probably once had when she lived on a plantation. She’s old and crusty and she always orders unsweetened ice tea and demands you bring her Sweet-n-Low as if I wasn’t going to already bring it. Or even better, she will order a glass of water and ask for a bowl of lemons and a bunch of Splenda so she can make her own cheap-ass lemonade.

Grandma will sit there with her bridge club and belittle you until you start wishing you had the opportunity to pull the plug on her or smother her with a pillow. She will eat her SOUP AND SALAD (fucking always……) like a damn bird, picking and spitting as she talks to her life long friends. It should never take two hours to eat a damn side salad. DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

I mainly believe Grandma is so rude to young waitresses because she’s jealous of our youth because we’re young and spry and she’s already lived her life and she’s all dried up now. SORRY BITCH.

All of this for a $2 tip on a $30 check. Oh, and she always pays in cash and ALWAYS needs change. I fucking hate you, Grandma.

6. The Saints:
I’m talking religion here. Now, I have many friends that are religious and most of them know that I’m not about that life and I don’t care about it and I don’t want to hear about it. And the reason we’re friends is because they respect that and don’t shove their beliefs down my throat and I do the same by not making fun of them or shitting on their beliefs. We just avoid the topic because we’ll never agree. So, with that being said, I’m sorry to offend anyone but you also need to be aware that you’re not the only one being offended.

Religious freedom? Sure, go ahead. Pray at the table. Do your thing. I will admit I always feel awkward when I go up to my table and ask how everything is tasting and I’ve totally interrupted the prayer but that’s just because that seems like a private thing that I don’t want to intrude on. But I quietly step away and let them finish. These people are typically really nice. I mean, they’re almost always Christians so they should be nice…but what really bothers me is when in lieu of a tip, I’m left with a little piece of paper telling me what I can do to get into Heaven.

I know people that have received notes that have said “you’ll get your tip in Heaven” and “I give God 10%, why should you get 20%?”

GET OUT OF HERE.

I’m sure these people have great intentions and are just trying to do “the work of the Lord” or ~whatever~, but I find it offensive and inappropriate at my workplace. I don’t want you to write “Jesus Loves You!” on my credit card receipt. I think the reason it pisses me off so bad besides the fact that they leave the shittiest tips known to man is that I know that if I were to go into a restaurant and write my beliefs on the credit card receipt I would DEFINITELY offend someone.

If someone looked at a receipt and it said “Hail Satan!” or “Praise Allah!” or “Have a Gay Day!” they would be offended as FUCK. It would be deemed inappropriate and offensive because IT IS. Why is Jesus any different? There’s a time and a place and it’s not at a restaurant.

7. Campers:
These are the people that sit at your table after they’ve finished eating and they’ve paid their bill. They will sit at your table and just talk for sometimes hours. It’s ridiculous. It reaches a point where you have completely bussed the table and reset it and they’re still there. And there’s nothing you can do. After you’ve asked them if there is anything else you can do for them and they’ve said no, you’re pretty much just playing the waiting game. A restaurant is not a campsite. It’s not a Starbucks. It’s not a fucking living room. You’ve paid your bill and I understand that. You have paid money to be here. But you paid for food, which you ate, and a drink, which you drank, and service which you received. The experience is over. SO GO AWAY. You’re preventing me from getting another table so I can make money. Just go sit on a bench and talk. Go inside the mall. Just GO. Please~~~~

Okay, ya’ll. I know I’ve laid a lot on you and bitched a lot about my job but don’t forget that with the bad there is always the good. I actually like my job most days and have a lot of fun. Being a server is a great way to make money quickly, it just gets irritating just like any other job.

If you’ve worked in the restaurant industry, I hope you related to this. And if you never have worked in the restaurant industry, I hope you have learned something today.

Always tip your server and always be kind because you never know. One day you might need a serving job and you’ll get one and you’ll start hating everyone just like we do.